can even remember" during his baseball career. His minor-league stint was short-lived, as an injury to Phil Hughes forced the Twins to call Gibson back up on May 22. He continued to struggle in Minnesota, and when the Twins received former Braves pitcher Jaime Garcia at the trading deadline, Gibson was optioned to Rochester for a second time to make room for Garcia in the rotation. Twins manager Paul Molitor said that the decision to send Gibson to Triple-A would keep him available should there be an issue in the Twins' rotation; if he had been sent to the bullpen, he could not be asked to make a start as easily. He compiled the same ERA in 2017, but with 12 wins, and hitters again hit over .290 against him. In 2018, he entered the Twins’ rotation again and started achieving a career-high strikeout rate than before — as of June 2018, he had struck out 66 batters in just 63 innings. Gibson finished the season with a record of 10–13 in innings. He led the team in ERA, finishing with a 3.62 ERA and a career high 179 strikeouts. He slotted 2nd in the Twins rotation in 2019. Gibson's K/9 rose to a career high 9 despite registering an ERA of 4.84 in 160 innings. Gibson tied a career high in wins with 13. Texas Rangers A free agent after the 2019 season, Gibson signed a three-year, $28 million contract with the Texas Rangers on December 6, 2019. Because of his ulcerative colitis diagnosis, Gibson was considered "high risk" for COVID-19, and was given the option to opt out of the 2020 MLB season while receiving a full pro-rated salary. After discussion with his wife and gastroenterologist, he decided to play the season and limit his non-baseball outings. The 60-game season was ultimately the worst of Gibson's career as he went 2–6 with a 5.35 ERA, a 1.53 WHIP, and a 5.39 fielding independent pitching (FIP). After picking up his first win of the season on August 15, Gibson did not win again until he pitched a complete game shutout against the Houston Astros on September 17. Prior to the shutout, the Rangers staff had isolated a mechanical issue when Gibson was pitching from the stretch, which he responded to by narrowing his stance. Gibson and the rest of the Rangers' starting rotation remained healthy throughout the shortened season,